The Frederick Meijer Gardens has an annual exhibit from the beginning of March through the end of April called “Butterflies are Blooming.” The Other Half and I attended an evening event at the gardens which allowed me to try out my new camera.

The Caterpillar Room was an area dedicated to the lifecycle of the monarch butterfly. Monarch caterpillars are placed on various plants in the exhibit, like milkweed, that serve as a food source. The caterpillars feed and then pack themselves away in a cocoon known as the chrysalis stage. It’s from these cocoons the adult monarch butterfly emerges.

The main exhibit is held in the Tropical Conservatory. Upon entering the exhibit, you are surrounded by free flying butterflies. There are 40 tropical butterfly species from around the world represented in the exhibit. It was quite fun trying to snap photos of these pretty, little insects. Unfortunately, I could not get a butterfly with it’s wings open. The colors on top of the wings were quite brilliant.